DIDLS Prose Analysis Method Just as each of us has a particular, unique way of presenting ourselves, writers have unique ways of presenting themselves. Our personalities shine through the way we talk, the words we choose, the gestures we use, the clothes we wear. A writer has only language to express his/her personality. The qualities below are the basic elements of a writer's style. Pick them out and add them up to figure out theme and attitude. Use them to support your TS when you write. Diction What words does the author choose? Consider his/her word choice compared to another. Why did the author choose that particular word? What are the connotations of that word choice? ex. Author 1: Bill was unintelligent. (relatively neutral, as far as lack of intelligence goes) ex. Author 2: Bill was a zipperhead. (less of a low IQ, more like someone who acts like an idiot) Images What images does the author use? What does he/she focus on in a sensory way? The kinds of images the author puts in or leaves out reflect his/her style? Are they vibrant? Prominent? Plain? NOTE: Images differ from detail in the degree to which they appeal to the senses. Details What details are does the author choose to include? What do they imply? What does the author choose to exclude? What are the connotations of their choice of details? PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts or fact-lets. They differ from images in that they don’t have a strong sensory appeal. ex. An author describing a battlefield might include details about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not. Language What is the overall impression of the language the author uses? Does it reflect education? A particular profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figurative? Poetic? This is the step I’m most apt to skip. Sentence Structure What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do they have multiple phrases? Are they choppy? Flowing? Sinuous like a snake? Is there antithesis, chiasmus, parallel construction? What emotional impression do they leave? If we are talking about poetry, what is the meter? Is there a rhyme scheme?
Taken from http://www.beechum.net/apwriting.htm
Just as each of us has a particular, unique way of presenting ourselves, writers have unique ways of presenting
themselves. Our personalities shine through the way we talk, the words we choose, the gestures we use, the
clothes we wear. A writer has only language to express his/her personality. The qualities below are the basic
elements of a writer's style. Pick them out and add them up to figure out theme and attitude. Use them to
support your TS when you write.
Diction
What words does the author choose? Consider his/her word choice compared to another. Why did the author
choose that particular word? What are the connotations of that word choice?
ex. Author 1: Bill was unintelligent. (relatively neutral, as far as lack of intelligence goes)
ex. Author 2: Bill was a zipperhead. (less of a low IQ, more like someone who acts like an idiot)
Images
What images does the author use? What does he/she focus on in a sensory way? The kinds of images the author
puts in or leaves out reflect his/her style? Are they vibrant? Prominent? Plain? NOTE: Images differ from detail
in the degree to which they appeal to the senses.
Details
What details are does the author choose to include? What do they imply? What does the author choose to
exclude? What are the connotations of their choice of details? PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts or fact-lets.
They differ from images in that they don’t have a strong sensory appeal.
ex. An author describing a battlefield might include details about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not.
Language
What is the overall impression of the language the author uses? Does it reflect education? A particular
profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figurative? Poetic? This is the step I’m most apt to
skip.
Sentence Structure
What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do they have multiple phrases? Are they
choppy? Flowing? Sinuous like a snake? Is there antithesis, chiasmus, parallel construction? What emotional
impression do they leave? If we are talking about poetry, what is the meter? Is there a rhyme scheme?
Taken from http://www.beechum.net/apwriting.htm